A
contemporary romance, HOME FOR THE SUMMER is Mariah Stewart's fifth book in her
THE CHESAPEAKE DIARIES series.New to
the series, I didn't have any trouble at all getting to know the characters and
if anything, reading a book in this series out of order only made me more
curious to find out more.This book has
a diary theme in that the family has their history written down in diaries by
their ancestor, and the main character's mother writes in one now.That's how the book begins, with an entry
from Grace's diary, which familiarizes the reader with the story about to
unfold.I have a weakness for books with
diary or journal entries, so this appealed to me right off.They were nicely placed and not
overdone.The entries added an enjoyable
addition to the developing storyline, giving an insight on things we might not know
otherwise, and a hint at some of the more quirky aspects of the characters,
adding a curiosity that the heroine hopes to satisfy concerning her mother.

Still
single at thirty-five, Lucy Sinclair is married to her career; too busy
coordinating other people's weddings to have a relationship herself.When she is back home in St. Dennis, Maryland,
coordinating a wedding, Lucy lands another client who is interested in using
her family's inn.She has to find a way
to coordinate a week-long affair on the East Coast while running her business
on the West Coast.What will it be like to
be home for the summer?Will she
overcome the nightmares of her past?

Clay
Madison has waited forever for his best friend to answer his question about
what happened to their friendship.Did
he do something to hurt Lucy to make her stay away from her hometown and
distance herself from him when she's home?He's always been in love with her and he is determined to find out if
she can love him too.An organic farmer,
as well as in the process of opening a brewery with a friend soon, Clay can't
imagine living anywhere else other than St.
Dennis, Maryland.

Can
a long distance relationship work for two entrepreneurs whose long-term
friendship as kids became distanced by something in their past?

Those
who are familiar with this series will enjoy more time with Brooke, Clay's
sister, with an update on her relationship, as well as updates on Steffie and
Vanessa.Reading this series out of
order, HOME FOR THE SUMMER made me curious to read Brooke's story in book four,
HOMETOWN GIRL.

Although
Lucy has a career as a wedding and party planner to the stars, she's very down
to earth.I liked that Clay has found a
new way to keep his family's farm prospering by growing organic vegetables and
herbs for restaurants, as well as organic hops for his future brewery. All the businesses in this book are intriguing
which just adds to the overall story, in my opinion.I really enjoyed the high-caliber business
that Lucy created with her partner, Bonnie.These businesswomen are just on the cusp of even more success when a
series of events put a strain on everything they've built.This creates a great conflict to be explored
throughout the book.

For
those who like small town romance, there is a similarity to those running
through this book but I liked that the majority of the story took place at the
inn, or in the rural community surrounding it.There is a very small town as well, but the appeal to me was the inn and
the holiday festivities taking place there before we get to the "summer" part
of the book.We get to experience more
than one season so another appeal is that the book covers a length of time for
this romance to bloom.

HOME
FOR THE SUMMER is an enjoyable romance about two kids who grew up as best
friends, separated through early adulthood, then fate brings them back together
in their thirties.As they explore the
memories of their past and eventually what tore them apart, their love for one
another blossoms.This is a sweet romance
with a closed door approach to the character's sensual relationship.Their love story is slow-paced and
believable, allowing them to become reacquainted and sort through their
challenges.There wasn't anything I
didn't like about this story, other than I wish I had read the previous books,
which may have added to my enjoyment of this one.Overall, it's a good contemporary romance
with interesting career-oriented characters that made me curious for more.

I'm
looking forward to book seven, AT THE RIVER'S EDGE, coming out on January 28,
2014, which is about Sophie, who comes from a law career, and Jason, who is a
landscaper, another intriguing plant related career.I love gardening themes and we get a brief
glimpse of Jason in HOME FOR THE SUMMER.It sounds like Sophie will be involved in a new restaurant, which is
another favorite theme for me.

HOME
FOR THE SUMMER will satisfy those who enjoy a contemporary romance that centers
on the activities at a very busy family resort style inn.